RICHARD GETS GOOD REVIEWS IN THREE-INNING SIMULATED GAME

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. 
Clayton Richard threw a three-inning simulated game Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field just before Burch Smith debuted in what is the left-hander’s normal spot in the rotation.

“It went very well,” said Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley of Richard’s 50-pitch outing before an 8-7 walk-off loss to Tampa Bay.

“His arm slot was up where it should be. It looked like he had more energy. His velocity was back. Overall, he looked better than normal today.”

“I took this like it was a game day,” said Richard, who flew Friday to Florida.

Richard said doctors still haven’t completely diagnosed the intestinal problem that caused him to lose 12 pounds and land him on the disabled list.

“They have an idea what it might be but they don’t yet know for sure,” said Richard. “The flu possibly set off something else. They think they can prevent it from happening again.

Padres manager Bud Black said Richard would make a rehab start for Triple-A Tucson in Iowa next Thursday. Richard is eligible to come off the disabled list on May 20.

In a pair of earlier side sessions and again Saturday, Richard worked on raising his arm slot three or four inches — or back to where it was last season.

“The goal is to get the arm slot higher and create a better angle for his pitches,” said Black. “In his side sessions and today, his ball had a good downward angle. The lower arm angle that he fell into caused the ball to be flatter. It was a repetitive bad habit.”

“Because he wasn’t feeling strong, I think he was trying to generate velocity using the lower arm angle,” said Balsley.

Making room

To activate Smith, the Padres needed to make two corresponding moves Saturday.

To create a spot on the 40-man roster, the Padres designated right-handed reliever Fautino De Los Santos for assignment. De Los Santos, 27, was acquired by the Padres from Milwaukee on waivers on Feb. 6. He was 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two appearances for Tucson, where he was on the Triple-A disabled list.

To create a spot on the 25-man active roster, the Padres optioned right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger back to Tucson. Boxberger, 24, allowed one unearned run on one hit over 3 2/3 innings in two appearances since being promoted on May 2.

The Padres were impressed by Boxberger’s overall efforts in his fifth cameo since last season.

“I told him the last 10 days were better than any other time he’s been up here,” said Black.

Exciting time

John Baker admitted he was excited to be catching Smith’s major league debut.

“Last year, I caught the major league debuts of Brad Boxberger, Tommy Layne and Andrew Werner and the Padre debut of Eric Stults,” said Baker. “In four years at Triple-A, it seemed like I caught a thousand different pitchers.

“You learn how to talk and deal with people. Burch and I played catch briefly yesterday. I listened to him more than talked to him. I just wanted to keep him comfortable. You keep it simple.

“I want to work off what a new pitcher likes to do, how he pitches.”

Notes

• Shortstop Everth Cabrera and first baseman Yonder Alonso are the only Padres to have played in all 36 games. Cabrera is the only player to have started every game.

• Smith became the 217th pitcher to start a game in the history of the Padres.